Skip to main content

Apple’s iPad Pro tablets are now $50 more expensive after quiet price hike

ios 11
Jessica Lee Star/Digital Trends
As the spotlight begins to fade on Apple’s major product announcements, a few eagle-eyed observers have spotted unannounced prices rises for most of its iPads Pro tablets.

The tech giant has slapped $50 onto the cost of its 256GB and 512GB Pro devices, pushin

Recommended Videos

g the price of the 10.5-inch, 256GB model to $799, while the 512GB version will now set you back $999. The price tag on the 64GB model remains unchanged at $649.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

For the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, the increase leaves the 256GB model with a $949 price tag, while the 512GB one now costs $1,149. Again, the 64GB version stays the same at $799.

The cost of the 256GB and 512GB cellular iPad Pros have also gone up by $50, and now retail for $130 more than the prices listed above.

The increases will come as a bit of a blow if you’ve been saving up to buy one of the affected iPads, though you might also want to consider checking out Apple’s current listings for refurbished iPads, which can offer great value for money.

Why the hike?

Although Apple has made no comment on the new prices, it’s thought to be down to the ongoing supply squeeze on NAND and DRAM memory chips used for tablets, smartphones, and other computing devices.

As noted by 9to5Mac, Apple’s chief financial officer, Luca Maestri, touched on the issue during an earnings call in the spring, saying the company had “started to experience some level of cost pressure on the memory side, particularly on NAND and DRAM.”

Maestri added, “The impact on NAND and DRAM will continue to be there and we expect it to be there.”

The squeeze has been exacerbated by tech manufacturers recently buying up memory chips in huge quantities. They’ve done this partly in anticipation of increased demand linked to Apple’s latest handsets that were unveiled on Tuesday, September 12, namely the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X, which will use the sought-after memory chips.

Apple and other large tech companies are unlikely to be hit by the shortage, Reuters said in June, adding that some larger firms have shifted to six-month supply agreements with chip makers to ensure they have enough for their own products.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
You can now use an external webcam with Microsoft Teams on your iPad. Here’s how
Home screen layout of the 2024 iPad mini.

For a lot of people, the iPad is the device they choose to work with, which may include taking video calls. Though the front-facing camera on iPads has gotten better over time, many still prefer external webcams because they’re often much better than the built-in webcam on your tablet or even laptop. And now, if you use Microsoft Teams on iPad, you’re finally able to use external cameras, as Microsoft has announced via a blog post.

When we say "finally," it’s because Apple has included support for external USB-C cameras on the iPad since iPadOS 17. So technically, Microsoft is a little late to the party with this feature. But if you have to use Microsoft Teams for work and you tend to use the iPad most of the time, then this is certainly welcome news.

Read more
An Apple insider just gave us a hint about the M5 iPad Pro release date
Home Screen of the M4 iPad Pro.

Apple's line of iPad Pro tablets are almost powerful enough to work as complete laptop replacements, depending on your use case. When a new iPad is announced, it's big news — almost as big as when Apple confirms a release date.

While that hasn't happened just yet for the M5 iPad Pro, an analyst with a solid track record says to expect mass production in the second half of next year. Ming-Chi Kuo reported that time frame on Medium, and assuming this is accurate, it's safe to assume we can expect the M5 iPad Pro to be released sometime in late 2025.

Read more
I got an Apple Pencil Pro for my new iPad and found a big problem
An Apple Pencil Pro being held in a person's left hand with squeeze controls showing on an iPad mini 7 on top of a MacBook Pro keyboard.

Apple has brought some impressive improvements to this year’s iPad lineup. From an “impossibly thin” and powerful M4 iPad Pro to the Apple Intelligence-equipped iPad mini 7, there’s something here for everyone.

However, one of the unsung heroes of the lineup is the new Apple Pencil Pro, an advanced stylus with several new gestures that work hand in hand with Apple’s tablets to make drawing, sketching, and even just scribbling notes more intuitive than ever.

Read more